UTEP will join Conference USA July 1, 2005, ending 37 years of WAC membership. The announcement came after the C-USA presidents voted to issue the invitation yesterday.

The departure of UTEP, which would reduce the WAC to eight members for 2005-06, now leaves conference athletic directors to recommend whether the league should stay at that number or expand to nine or 10 teams.

"I still think nine (is best)," said Herman Frazier, UH athletic director. "I can't speak for everybody else, (but), I would suspect Fresno, Boise State and Hawai'i would think nine."

Nine provides an even slate of four conference home and four away games in football while 10 would allow each school to have a travel partner in basketball.

C-USA had considered several schools for its 12th spot, including Louisiana Tech and North Texas. Both the WAC and Louisiana Tech had hoped Tech would be the choice because it would allow the school to play teams within its region and reduce the conference's 4,035 mile span by 800 miles.

Now, Louisiana Tech athletic director Jim Oakes said, "Our plans are to stay in the WAC and work hard to be part of the league's future."

However, Oakes said, "We would welcome the addition of a school from our region."

Officials said Idaho, North Texas and Louisiana-Lafayette have been reviewed as a pool to draw from for possible replacements. All are in the Sun Belt Conference in football.

Frazier declined to rate the schools, but North Texas appears to be the favorite if the WAC goes to nine.

Any recommendation by the athletic directors would have to go to the WAC presidents for approval. The presidents are scheduled to hold their annual meeting the first week of June in California although a phone conference could be held before then.

The move is expected to cost UTEP upward of $2 million including an initial C-USA buy-in fee, league assessments and what it will forfeit in 2004-05 WAC disbursements.

UTEP athletic director Bob Stull said, "finding a spot where we were connected geographically and politically, I think that became more and more of a deciding factor" in the Miners' decision to leave the WAC .

Frazier said UTEP's departure, "is an overall loss for the WAC, and I think it is going to be somewhat of a challenge (to replace the Miners)."

But not everybody at UH considered UTEP's move a setback. "It is not as big a loss as some people think," said Dave Shoji, Rainbow Wahine volleyball coach. "I mean, they certainly weren't all that competitive in football, and (only) just recently in basketball were they very good."

Men's basketball coach Riley Wallace said, "I just don't see them (the Miners) as making a move that betters them. I don't see it as a step up for their programs."

WAC commissioner Karl Benson said, "we're certainly disappointed in UTEP's decision to leave, but the good news is that we still have four programs that are very good and are a great foundation to build on."

Benson said, "the WAC is clearly a better football and basketball league."